5 Powerful Steps To Get Out Of The Shadow Side of The Entrepreneurial Box
Sweaty palms.
Your mind is meandering about, picking up a thought here and looking it over before moving onto another thought. You’ve been hard at work forging your dream making a difference as a changemaker.
But things are tough right now. Not only has it been a while since you’ve seen a paycheck made out to your name, you are in the middle of a COVID19.
You’re mustering the motivation to keep working on your idea, but it’s getting hard. Maybe it’s looking a little bleak.
That can especially be true when you feel like you’ve failed. And when you’re not the only one who has that feeling – when your family or friends are becoming less and less enchanted with your vision – it can be particularly gruelling.
Maybe you’ve lost time and again – no one believes in you. Perhaps your situation isn’t quite as damp and cold -
Or maybe it is. Either way, this should help.
Here are my five tips – gathered from my garden of entrepreneurial experience – on what you should to do breakthrough obstacles you may face as a dream-chasing entrepreneur.
Chase away the fog clouding your mind.
When times get tough – when your motivation starts to dip down just a bit – take this as a sign that you need to clear your mind.
Step away from your desk and take a walk. Now, beautiful people, here on the outskirts of pristine Reykjavik (where I live), this is a rather simple matter. Taking a walk among the wonders of nature is an excellent way to clear your mind and burn away the fog that’s filling your thoughts.
But here’s the secret key – while taking your walk or when stepping away from your desk – don’t think about your entrepreneurial issues or obstacles.
No, think about something totally different!
Often, this is when inspiration strikes and you have a brilliant idea that’ll recharge your batteries and your motivation.
2. Re-connect with an old friend or colleague – someone who inspires you and “gets” you.
So, nowadays, we’re all busy with our noses near our smartphones as we text the people we know. The idea of calling someone just seems a bit quaint, doesn’t it?
But it can work wonders for you! Call a friend of yours – or a colleague. Re-connect with them. Make sure this person inspires and motivates you and doesn’t bring you down!
Anyways…now that you’ve called them, discuss with them (objectively and authentically) how you are feeling and what problems you are facing.
Do this not to seek sympathy but rather to seek the input and insight of a trusted “outsider.”
Seriously, don’t just think about doing this – do it! Call that person! They may be able to lift your spirits and even offer you tangibly valuable advice.
And don’t forget – we all need a little help sometimes. It’s what makes us human.
3. Re-visit your Happiness Zone for your business.
By “Happiness Zone” I mean something very close to passion. So I want you to ask yourself, right now, the following question: “Has my passion for this business shifted or changed in some way? If so, how has it transformed?”
Neither you nor your business is a static entity. In the times we are living in today (COVID19) nothing seems to be the same. And whether or not it’s COVID time -remember - you are a collective body of experiences that are continually evolving.
Your business grows similarly. It’s now time for you re-check your Happiness Zone pulse. Do this with a series of pointed questions – be fiercely introspective about it.
Ask yourself, again, what your ultimate WHY is. Does it jolt you out of bed at times? Does this WHY burn within you?
Ask yourself these questions:
Why are you running this business? Why are you chasing this dream? What will your desired outcome give to you? What is it doing for you right now (not speaking monetarily, but on a personal, fulfilling level)?
And take note of this – it really helps to write all this down!
Just thinking about it isn’t nearly as powerful as taking the time to dissect your thoughts with a pen and paper.
4. Re-visit your purpose for this business.
This, of course, is closely tied with the above point. Perhaps you feel COVID19 has influenced you to lose sight of the purpose of this business?
Are you, perhaps noticing your focus has shifted? Did you use to be just chasing more and more revenue?
If so, you might have lots of money, but that doesn’t guarantee fulfilment on a profoundly personal level.
So, tell me (or, instead, tell yourself), what is the purpose of your business RIGHT NOW? Is it the same as it was a year ago, or has it changed? If it has changed, why did it evolve? Did you deliberately change it – or did the vicissitudes of circumstance shift the purpose of your business? Remember – write this stuff down in a beautiful notebook.
5. Educate yourself by seeking what is significant.
Entrepreneurs, as a general group of dream-chasers, love to learn new things about how they can grow better – both when it comes to their business and their personal lives.
Don’t lose this trait! Empower yourself by educating yourself. And listen up here, because this is important: what do you spend your time on when you’re on the internet? Are you Googling random bits of information? Reading blog articles that don’t do much to advance your purpose?
Or are you working with purpose and striving to seek the truly significant?
I can’t put it much better than Noam Chomsky (one of this century’s most articulate and prolific thinkers), so here:
“If you don’t have some sort of a framework for what matters — always, of course, with the proviso that you’re willing to question it if it seems to be going in the wrong direction — if you don’t have that, exploring the Internet is just picking out the random factoids that don’t mean anything… You have to know how to evaluate, interpret, and understand… The person who wins the Nobel Prize is not the person who read the most journal articles and took the most notes on them. It’s the person who knew what to look for. And cultivating that capacity to seek what’s significant, always willing to question whether you’re on the right track — that’s what education is going to be about, whether it’s using computers and the Internet, or pencil and paper, or books.”
There you go.
Let me know your thoughts – I’d love to hear from you and learn what you’re going through.
